It’s homecoming week for Mississippi Valley State University and the Delta Devils will host Bethune-Cookman at Rice-Totten Stadium on Saturday to cap off the week of celebration.
Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
“There’s a lot of festivities this week, but the biggest thing is on Saturday,” MVSU head coach Vincent Dancy said. “We know the atmosphere is going to be great.”
Valley is glad to be home this week. Last week, the Delta Devils went to Montgomery and faced Alabama State, where the Hornets captured a 24-9 victory over the Delta Devils (now 0-7 overall). Caleb Johnson was the leading rusher, finishing with 19 carries for 62 yards.
Quarterback Jamari Jones picked up 39 yards passing, going 3-of-5 in the air for one touchdown. He connected with Jacory Rankin for a 62-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter. Rankin was the leading receiver, finishing with two catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Dancy had high praise for how his defense played last week, but said his offense needs to get rhythm earlier.
“We played hard. Our defense played great, holding their (Alabama State) best rusher (Jacory Merritt) under 100 yards (39 yards on 11 carries). They picked up two turnovers and gave our offense good chances to score,” Dancy said. “We just can’t wait until the end of the game to score points.”
Bethune-Cookman comes into Saturday’s game with an overall record of 1-5 and 1-2 in conference play. The Wildcats’ lone win is a 36-19 victory over Grambling State earlier this year. One of the Bethune-Cookman players Dancy is keeping an eye on is quarterback Jalon Jones.
“Jones is a good quarterback,” Dancy said. “He is a dual threat guy, he does a lot of good things for them.”
This season, Jalon Jones has thrown for 1,104 yards and four interceptions, and has rushed for 260 yards on 59 tries. Keeping him in check will be key if Dancy wants to keep his homecoming winning streak alive.
“We’re looking to make this the fifth year in a row we win on homecoming. Ever since I’ve been here, we haven’t lost on homecoming night,” Dancy said.
The last time MVSU lost a homecoming game was in 2016. That year, the Delta Devils fell 59-10 to Grambling State.
-Contact Jared Conerly at 662-581-7237 or jconerly@gwcommonwealth.com.
